Launch of Restraint Reduction Network Training Standards 2019

The standards will provide a benchmark for training in supporting people who are distressed in education, health and social care settings. These are ethical standards which aim to protect human rights and reduce restraint. The case for why the standards are so needed is made in its foreword, which recounts the story of 23 year old Seni who died in a mental health hospital in 2010 after prolonged restraint by 11 police officers. The use of restraint, whilst occasionally necessary, can often be traumatic and is frequently not the most proportionate or lawful way of working with a person.

BIHR do a lot of work regarding restrictive practices, supporting both staff and service users to understand this in relation to human rights. Evidence gathered from our work clearly reflects that a rights based, person centred approach can make a positive difference to practice.

In one of our training sessions a community learning disability nurse told us:

“I’m uncomfortable using restraint as it has been used to control people in the past but the Human Rights Act gave me the confidence to intervene, knowing that we were taking reasonable steps to protect the patient's right to life and right to be free from inhumane and degrading treatment and that we were using restrictions proportionate to the situation.”

Using human rights as a framework empowers staff to make decisions about how to work in a way that treats people with dignity and respect.

The standards were launched at Parliament on Monday 5th January 2019 and are available to read here. We look forward to seeing the positive impact that these standards will have on future practice in education, health and social care settings.

Human Rights through the Ages premiered at our Human Rights Tour 2012. It highlights a handful of historical events that have contributed to our modern understanding of human rights, with a bit of tongue in cheek media commentary thrown in. It has proved extremely popular, have a watch and see what you think!

Co-produced with advocacy groups this guide shows how the rights and duties in the Human Rights Act can help strengthen support for people with mental health problems. It uses handy tables, flowcharts, case studies, and worked through examples.